Major NSW printer Focus Press is in deep trouble just months after opening new plants in Canberra and Wollongong, apparently facing an exodus of suppliers and clients, and shopping itself to three potential buyers.

Sources within the company say estimators, accounts, and other administrative staff were told not to come into work today, either taking annual or unpaid leave, and that all staff would be advised whether they would be needed on Monday.

Focus Press group general manager Lee Barnsley confirms this, but says all staff are expected to be at work on Monday. Quelling industry rumours, Barnsley categorically denies that the company is appointing administrators, and says there are no plans to do so.

Barnsley confirms the aim is to sell the company in the next five days, hopefully over the weekend, and that talks with three unidentified parties are ongoing, and that industry identity Bob McMillan is providing senior advisory to one of them.

McMillan, who used to own the biggest sheetfed printer in NSW before he sold to Blue Star seven years ago as part of the private equity fiasco, offered a ‘no comment’ when asked by ProPrint if he was involved in the process. Blue Star is not one of the companies in the frame to buy Focus.

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Company sources say at least nine suppliers including all three major paper merchants have withdrawn credit and have refused to supply Focus due to unpaid bills, with KW Doggett ceasing deals five months ago.

Barnsley says Focus is involved in a dispute about paper quality with Doggett and believes the company is otherwise up to date with those bills.

KW Doggett managing director Simon Doggett would only say his company has a small exposure and is watching the situation with interest.

Barnsley also confirmed BJ Ball pulled the plug yesterday and that Spicers removed consignment stock from the company’s Matraville and Canberra facilities this morning, but says while both companies are no longer dealing with Focus they have not ruled out returning.

Company sources say Spicers’ actions were due to Focus not paying the major portion of a $2.3m debt Spicers had requested. Spicers NSW sales manager Ian Winters offered a ‘no comment’ to ProPrint.

As Focus is a $40m company, it will be spending as much as $12m a year on paper, and as paper merchants can invoice with 90-day deadlines the paper bills could be up to six months overdue.

Sources close to Focus’ suppliers say numerous other trade suppliers are owed big sums including Graphic Book Binding which is owed $80,000, Graphic Trade Services at $47,000, Graphic Plus, and TLC which are thought to be owed more than $200,000 between them.

Focus has huge press power within the one group; it has three long perfectors, a 12 colour in Wollongong, and ten colours in Strathfield and Matraville, as well as several other B1 presses. That had rival printers wondering how they filled the presses.

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Sources close to the company say Focus has shed at least 12 jobs in recent months and has called numerous other staff in to explain why they should keep their jobs, and what they bring to the company, as it seeks to have staff multitask to save money.

Barnsley denies there have been significant cutbacks but says some sales representatives have been fired for poor performance and some staff were juggled between Wollongong and Canberra.

He says rationalisation has been discussed but no plans have been drawn up.

The trouble began six months ago when Focus discounted its prices too much because it was consistently being undercut in the industry’s ongoing price wars and was not making much money on jobs. It then decided to up its prices and sell on quality so it could turn a profit.

Barnsley says: “We did lose some clients that were price-focused, but we want to be seen as a quality printer.”

He says the company decided to stop dealing with clients who were ‘treating us like a bank’ and dropped 25 clients that had a habit of not paying within 120 days.

He says Focus is currently writing cheques to some suppliers that want to get out during the present situation, but that several clients have called today to express their support.

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Company sources say there have been big holes in Focus’ job board for about a month and that there was not enough work to go around the company’s four sites.

Barnsley says the market has been flat for everyone in recent times so the plants are not running at full capacity, but that work is continuing with a ‘skeleton staff’.

Focus Press won a reputation as an environmental champion, and was the envy of the industry when it established a brand new security printing business in Wollongong earlier this year with the aid of a $6.1m government grant.

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